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E-mail Fouls
The following is a list of E-mail Fouls one can commit while sending an e-mail at WPI. Too Many Recipients in the To: Field If you're sending an email to a large group of people, generally more than five, it is best to place their e-mail addresses in the BCC: field. This reduces the length of the header for people using SquirrelMail. It's also safer to BCC multiple recipients in case any of them hits Reply All. Unwarranted Reply All If you're the recipient of a message to a mailing list, it is an e-mail foul to reply to all if all recipients do not benefit from the information you send. For example, if a project group was scheduling a meeting and someone sets a time, it is generally inappropriate to confirm to all members of the group that this time is acceptable. With the more widespread use of Exchange it is less common to need to schedule meetings via email at all. Warranted Reply All Occasionally, particularly in a flame, the use of reply all is not only preferred but it is expected. If someone simply replies to the original sender, the original sender has the right to call an email foul and forward the reply to the list indicating the lack of a reply all. Referencing an Attachment That You Didn't Attach This is an embarrassing e-mail foul. Generally, someone will have spent several minutes constructing a beautiful e-mail regarding a lab, report, or schedule on which the recipient(s) need to view and take action. While the recipients are scratching their head wondering where the attachment is, the sender will send a second e-mail hastily thrown together. Long Signatures Signatures that list every single organization of which a student is a part are probably too long. A general rule of thumb would be two lines for organizational information. It is acceptable to change the signature depending on the capacity in which you are sending a particular e-mail. University Tag Line Staff signatures that contain the phrase "The University of Science and Technology. And Life." are out of date and should be corrected. Large Attachments in a Message Large attachments (generally larger than 750 kilobytes) are unwarranted. Community members can use myWPI or their public Web space to post large files for mass distribution. Abuse of an Alias Although it is easy to figure out e-mail aliases for various groups and organizations, it is inappropriate to e-mail that alias if you are not on it. For example, the alias for orientation leaders is well known, but it would be inappropriate for a non-OL to send a message to it. Commonly, the same extends to student organization membership aliases and residence hall floors. Images, Clip Art, or Backgrounds Images, clip art, or backgrounds are generally not warranted in e-mails to decorate the e-mail. Reasons not to include graphical decoration include limiting e-mail size, maintaining a higher level of professionalism, and making e-mails accessible independent of program (Pine does not show graphics). Images as attachments are warranted dependent on the size of the file and intended recipients. Category:Information Technology Category:WPI Culture